Home baking and cooking blog

Vegetables

I’ve been working on my Thanksgiving Day dinner plans this past week and decided it’s time to change up my brussel sprout recipe this season. I want to add more color and flavor to this delicious vegetable. Since I always serve yams that seemed like a good choice to add and one less dish to prepare. Yams roasted become so sweet and melt in your mouth not to mention the color it will add. I always put chopped bacon or pancetta for extra flavor so that must remain. For even more color I’ll add dried cranberries after the vegetables are roasted and finish by tossing everything with high quality balsamic vinegar. It not only looks festive it tastes great!

Recipe:

Brussel sprouts, washed and cut in half

Yams, peeled and cut into small chunks

Bacon, cut into small pieces

Kosher salt

Fresh cracked pepper

Good quality olive oil

Good quality balsamic vinegar

Dried cranberries

Prepare the vegetables, try to cut them so they are even in size so they roast evenly. Spread them on a baking sheet and Sprinkle the chopped bacon pieces over the top. Salt and pepper to your liking. Sprinkle enough olive oil over the vegetables to coat them. Toss with your clean hands. Bake 450 degrees for about 20 minutes, till vegetables a tender. Remove from the oven. Spoon the roasted vegetables into a dish and pour on enough balsamic to coat and add a good handful or two of the dried cranberries. Toss and serve immediately.

I ‘ve been trying to find some healthier options for snacking lately. I always think of raw vegetables a quick snack. On days off however why not make the vegetable snack a little more tasty. Steam or boil some carrots. Add them to a small fry pan with 1 teaspoon of butter. Just let the butter melt and then add 1 teaspoon of pure maple syrup. shake the pan to coat and glaze the carrots. Serve in a pretty bowl and enjoy.

Sweet potatoes are a real favorite of mine. I like adding them to my diet year round and cooking them in many different ways. Baked, mashed, and candied are top of my list. My husband Joe has never cared for them, which drives me crazy! I knew if I could just get him to try them he would enjoy them. Over the years I’ve made them many ways hoping I would find a way to awaken his taste buds to the creamy sweet goodness of these nutrient rich potatoes. Well it took 12 years for this man to finally find a way to enjoy them. It should have been obvious to me that he would enjoy them as fries. He loves fried and roasted foods best like most people. I don’t fry food as a rule, but I do roast lots of things vegetables are a must for me as far as roasting. You get such rich flavor from roasting. So I oven fried some sweet potatoes and told him I really needed him to try one last time. If he didn’t like them I would give up. Well of course you know the happy ending. He couldn’t believe that he really loved them. With that said oven roasted is the only way he will eat them.

Toss all ingredients together. Judge the oil you don’t want to much.

Sweet Potato Fries

1 large organic sweet potato

1 ½ tablespoons olive oil

¼ teaspoon smoky paprika

Kosher salt

Fresh cracked pepper

Pre heat oven 400 degrees

Scrub sweet potato and cut the potato in wedges. Place potato wedges on a baking sheet or cast iron pan. Toss with olive oil, paprika, and salt and pepper to taste. Roast for 8-10 minutes then turn potatoes over to the other side with a spatula to roast evenly and brown potatoes on both sides. Serve immediately. Serves 1-2.

The 4th of July is quickly approaching; I’m already dreaming of my favorite sautéed corn. I know it will have to be on the menu. Local corn is now popping up at the farmers market near my home. This sauté tastes so sweet, with fresh corn, zucchini, red peppers, shallots, fresh thyme, and fresh basil. It’s delightful! I’ve made this many times, even in the winter with frozen corn, it still tastes amazing. I served the corn sauté at my Christmas dinner a few years ago; my sister-in-law said “anyone that can make corn taste that good can cook.” I was pretty happy to serve something everyone truly enjoyed. So, year round fresh or frozen, this corn sauté is always welcome on my family table.

4 Ears fresh corn on the cob, remove corn from cob, frozen corn may be used

2 Medium shallots, chopped

1 large red bell pepper, diced

2 small zucchini, diced

3 Tablespoons olive oil

1 Tablespoon butter

4 Sprigs of fresh thyme, remove from stems

5 fresh basil leaves, julienned

Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper

In a large skillet over medium heat melt the tablespoon of butter and add the olive oil. Add the shallot and cook 3 minutes, add the red pepper, and fresh thyme leaves cook 4 minutes, add the zucchini, salt and pepper cook until tender 4-5 minutes. Add the corn removed from the cob cook 4-5 minutes more. Finish with a sprinkling of fresh basil and salt and pepper to taste.